Ok, I'm sure not all Americans are like this, but certainly the ones I've spoken to and read post made by online seem to flip at the slightest hint of any critism about their beloved government or way of life. They seem to genuinely believe that they have the best standard of living and that there are no poor people in their country. They also have this believe that is drummed into them from kids that they are the freest country in the world and every other country craves for freedom like America's.

Admittedly, there are some extremely intelligent and enlightened Americans who manage to see through the propaganda that they are force-fed in schools and TV, but a large amount seem to just live in fantacy when it comes to their views on the US's place in the world.

Their government also seems to believe their absolutely incapable of doing anything wrong. When any attrocity happens around the world, prehaps a natural disaster or something, the US government are always the first to condemn a country about their handling of the situation, yet they seem to forget entirely the complete mess-up New Orleans was. It amazes me how a government can completely to write of an entire city. New Orleans has been virtually abandoned by the government.

Your opinions?

Haha, just as expected, the neg reps are all coming in from people who are blatantly Yanks, pretty much proving my theory.

As you just said: Americans grow up like this. I must admit there are some stupid ones, but many are highly educated.
And trust me I know Americans who do NOT think highly of their home country. Just because the most people in the US love and cherish the USA doesnt mean every single American does.
And I think you can see that in current politics...Americans do want a change. They are not happy with what it's like now.

I'm sorry, I know this is PC Labour country, but I believe my obervations are mostly correct. I'm yet to speak to many Americans online that have a well-balanced view on the world. Obviously, Americans you meet in the UK and abroad would likely be a different story for obvious reasons.

(Original post by burninginme)
Ok, I'm sure not all Americans are like this, but certainly the ones I've spoken to and read post made by online seem to flip at the slightest hint of any critism about their beloved government or way of life. They seem to genuinely believe that they have the best standard of living and that there are no poor people in their country. They also have this believe that is drummed into them from kids that they are the freest country in the world and every other country craves for freedom like America's.

Admittedly, there are some extremely intelligent and enlightened Americans who manage to see through the propaganda that they are force-fed in schools and TV, but a large amount seem to just live in fantacy when it comes to their views on the US's place in the world.

Their government also seems to believe their absolutely incapable of doing anything wrong. When any attrocity happens around the world, prehaps a natural disaster or something, the US government are always the first to condemn a country about their handling of the situation, yet they seem to forget entirely the complete mess-up New Orleans was. It amazes me how a government can completely to write of an entire city. New Orleans has been virtually abandoned by the government.

Your opinions?

I guess you haven't heard of the word "fear". People fear that saying something bad against the government would cause any trouble and the person would be involved with the government. I don't think anyone would want to be held by the government. Saying things against the president is something very dangerous, particularly in the US. I can't say that it's against the law, but I don't think anyone would recommend it. Though I have to say that Bush did ruined the reputation of the Americans, people are not allowed to say anything bad against the president.

We do know that the government abandoned New Orleans when they are in need, but they aren't allowed to criticize the government for such actions. It could be possible that the FBI and the CIA will be searching for you and spying on your actions if you were to say something like it. I'm not sure, but this is my guess.

Security in the US has improved these few years, so people should be careful of what they say. It's pretty scary sometimes, since suspected people would most likely be interrogated and tortured. You never know what the government will do to you. I suppose many people can see through the facade and propaganda, but most people wouldn't dare say that publicly. Although many are patriotic and proud, you shouldn't judge them just because they protect their own country. It is their own country, after all.

(Original post by Cherryy)
You cannot judge an American on talking online.

If you havent met any americans or lived in the US then I do not think that you are able to judge them.

I'm not saying I haven't spoken to Americans face-to-face. I've visited the US a couple of times, and in face-to-face interactions, they're mostly friendly people, but come across as somewhat naive towards a lot of the world; again not all, but quite a few.

But online, a lot of Americans get mouthy and start spouting their patriotic stuff about how they're the best in the world, etc, etc, which leads me to think that possibly that's what they genuinely believe. Most people have the respect not to make any negative comment about your country to your face, but online people can be a bit more free in what they say.

(Original post by dafunkyguy)
I guess you haven't heard of the word "fear". People fear that saying something bad against the government would cause any trouble and the person would be involved with the government. I don't think anyone would want to be held by the government. Saying things against the president is something very dangerous, particularly in the US. I can't say that it's against the law, but I don't think anyone would recommend it. Though I have to say that Bush did ruined the reputation of the Americans, people are not allowed to say anything bad against the president.

We do know that the government abandoned New Orleans when they are in need, but they aren't allowed to criticize the government for such actions. It could be possible that the FBI and the CIA will be searching for you and spying on your actions if you were to say something like it. I'm not sure, but this is my guess.

Security in the US has improved these few years, so people should be careful of what they say. It's pretty scary sometimes, since suspected people would most likely be interrogated and tortured. You never know what the government will do to you. I suppose many people can see through the facade and propaganda, but most people wouldn't dare say that publicly. Although many are patriotic and proud, you shouldn't judge them just because they protect their own country. It is their own country, after all.

I don't even know what to say to this except that it's entirely ridiculous. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone legitimately afraid of saying negative things about the government or who thinks that the CIA and FBI are potentially after them unless they're not all there; we're all pretty high on our freedom of speech. It's not like it's 1984.

(Original post by Cherryy)
This show just shows the stupid americans (to make americans look stupid) and I bet there were people who knew answers to the questions.

Plus, some of the questions they asked were 'difficult' for the average person in any country. For example, the 'I'm John Howard, the PM of Australia' stunt. I mean, I doubt 80% of the UK population is familiar with the relatively insignificant Australian Prime Minister. Why pick on the Americans?

(Original post by Bismarck)
Your knowledge of the US is completely non-existent, so stop making a fool out of yourself. 70% of the American people dislike Bush, and many openly insult him (some in very crude terms). Nothing has ever happened to anyone insulting Bush. To suggest that there is some kind of a widespread fear of attacking Bush is so ludicrous that I have to question your sanity, let alone your intelligence.

Bush is an awful president. I'll let you know when the FBI knocks on my door. And just to further prove your total lack of knowledge, the CIA is not involved inside the US; it protects American interests in other countries.

I know that Bush is an awful president, but weren't you the ones who chose him in the first place? If not, Al Gore would have taken the presidency. I guess the media is a big influence on the Americans, which manipulates their votes, as well those annoying calls from campaigns.

To be fair, you could find an equal amount of people in the UK who'd struggle to answer questions of that nature. I wasn't saying Americans struggled to answer simple questions to do with world religions and geography.

(Original post by L'Autrichienne)
I don't even know what to say to this except that it's entirely ridiculous. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone legitimately afraid of saying negative things about the government or who thinks that the CIA and FBI are potentially after them unless they're not all there; we're all pretty high on our freedom of speech. It's not like it's 1984.

I guess so, but unknowingly, we're actually in this kind of state. You may think that you have freedom of speech, but is that really true? I'm not trying to fight your argument, it's just what I believe. I think that American media is too biased and that we shouldn't believe everything that the media says. Damn, I'm becoming like Noam Chomsky.